Cryogenic power generation

The ac superconducting generator may well be the first large-scale commercial application of superconductivity. In part, this is because the anticipated advantages should occur at power generation levels of today (approximately 1000 MVA), rather than at future power levels. Recent definitive feasibility studies indicate that among the advantages to be accrued will be reduced size and weight, higher efficiency, lower capital cost, and greater system stability. This machine, unlike the conventional one, has the potential for generation at transmission line voltages, eliminating the expensive step-up transformer. Consideration is also given to a cryoresistive generator, and to a superconducting stored field generator. (author)